A Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) enables an elderly person, handicapped person, or other person at elevated risk of accident or incapacitating medical emergency to summon help. As such systems are typically on a subscriber basis, i.e. the at-risk person subscribes to the PERS service (either on a paid basis, or with the subscription provided by a healthcare provider, governmental agency, or other sponsor). The PERS typically includes a personal help button (PHB) worn as a necklace-born pendant, or on a bracelet, or the like. By pressing the call button of the PHB, a speakerphone console in the residence is activated, by which the subscriber is placed into telephonic (or videophone, or the like) contact with a PERS agent. The agent speaks with the subscriber and takes appropriate action such as talking the subscriber through the problem, summoning emergency medical service (EMS), or alerting a neighbor or other authorized person to check on the subscriber.
As an additional safety measure, a periodic check-in can be provided to ensure against the subscriber being incapacitated and unable to press the PHB. A check-in service is typically implemented as a timer at the speakerphone console that, at check-in time, issues an instruction to the subscriber to press a button on the speakerphone console to perform the check-in. In this way, it is verified that the subscriber is physically capable of moving to the speakerphone and pressing the check-in button.
The following discloses a new and improved systems and methods that address the above referenced issues, and others.